Your Story

These days, sponsors want to tell stories. More specifically, they want to tell a story that resonates with their target market, one that pulls on their heart strings – eventually leading them to become a loyal believer in the value a product, brand, and/or company can bring to their lives. Sponsors also want to tell a story that they can believe in, one their employees can believe in and one they can be proud to support and share.

Caroline Calvé and Jayson Krause talk about their story

We talked earlier about the types of objectives companies are looking to fulfill through sponsorship such as launching or rebranding a new product, increasing sales or building brand awareness by leveraging your brand equity – your stories of leadership, overcoming adversity, inspiration, success, dedication, national pride, etc. It’s your job to figure out what your story is, how you can differentiate it from others, and how it fits with a potential sponsor.

Some of you may already have good idea of what your story is, and for some, this may be something you haven’t really thought of. This is the part where you will get to know yourself better, examine your life, your career, your values, your goals and more, to determine who you are and what you represent.

To start you off, we’ve developed a resource entitled Getting to Know You which will take you through a list of questions to help you create a profile to build your story.

Your story isn’t the only thing that appeals to potential sponsors – although it will play a major role in getting their attention. Other factors to take into consideration when identifying what you have to offer a sponsor are:

Image/Reputation

Do you represent yourself in a positive manner in public, during appearances, competitions & interviews, etc.

Are you well spoken, do you command attention and inspire

Are you a leader on and off the field of play (active in your community, etc.)

How visible are you in the media

How visible are you in your market

Your sport (mainstream, high profile, etc.)

Are you able to explain your sport, participation, structure, competitions, etc.

Areas of alignment between you and the sponsors’ business objectives

Do you share common values

Are you a customer

Are you visible to their target market, etc.

Remember, you don’t have to be a star in all of these areas right from the start – Olympic/Paralympic Champions didn’t make it to the top of the podium without thousands of hours of hard work and dedication! Your story will continue to evolve over time and you can work on these areas as you build your brand to strengthen your overall value.